TWO VOTING-PAPERS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 121, 6 May 1936, Page 8

TWO VOTING-PAPERS

Man Alleged to Have Visited Two Booth? GENERAL ELECTION ECHO IB- Telegraph-Preit Aeeocietion.i AUCKLAND, May 6. The offence of personation under the Electoral Act, 1927, was alleged to have been committed on the day of the general election last year by James Francis Brady, second-hand dealer, who appeared for trial in the Supreme Court. It was alleged by the Caown that the accused voted in the morning at St. Benedict’s Hall and then went to the booth at the Town Hail and applied for a second set of votingpapers. The case came before Mr Justice Callan, Mr R. Meredith appearing for the Crown and Mr Elwarth for tho .accused, who pleaded not guilty. In his opening address to the jury, Mr Meredith said that the Crown had to prove that the accused had voted on one occasion and then had gone along to another booth and made application for voting-papers. Lt was not necessary for the Crown to prove that he had voted a second time. If the jury were satisfied that the accused had applied for a second set of voting-papers they were entitled to find him guilty. Erwin Sharman Molony, returning officer for Auckland Central, said that from a scrutiny of the rolls after the election it appeared that the accused had voted twice, as his name waa struck out on the rolls from the Town Hall and St. Benedict’s Hall booths. Witness produced ballot papers and other material relating to the election. The evidence of several officials engaged in election work was heard.